Has anyone else experience in recent updates the steam gauged C172 being very under powered? It doesn’t achieve 100kts shortly after take off at level flight. It’s like an anvil is on the tail wing. I scan the cockpit, making sure flaps are in the full up position. The G1000 doesn’t act like this. I’ve been hoping that this was going to be fixed in future updates but not sure if it’s random or more widespread. I cringe at the thought of a complete re-install to fix.
First thing to check is make sure your flight model is set to “modern”. That fixes a lot of issues. If it’s not that, we’ll keep looking for a resolution.
Regards
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Thanks. I’ll be sure to check that.
Another thing to check; where were you taking off from?
If you’re taking off from an elevated airport (over 3000ft) you’ll need to start leaning the mixture out a bit to get full performance out of the 172. The higher the airport the more you need to lean out.
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Sorry, not anywhere high altitude.
Problem really started after one of the recent updates. I think since 1.9.3 That didn’t go well and I had to uninstall, then re-install. No fun!
Can’t say I’ve had the issue. I fly both the C172s. Other than the onboard avionics, they perform pretty much the same for me.
If you feel the need to reinstall, you can delete the steam gauge C172 folder and re-download it from the content manager. That beats reinstalling the game.
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Have you tried leaning the mixture during a climb or at high density altitudes/high airports? You’ll be surprised how much more power you get when leaning the mixture. That is, unless you have auto mixture set…
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The mixture requirement has changed (improved?) since the latest update. It seems more realistic at this point.
I fly the C172 - Steam Gauge model - all over my local area. It is really quite enjoyable, and pretty much duplicates my real world experiences with this aircraft. You can “zoom climb” for ten or twelve seconds at 1200-1400 fpm but it settles back down to a steady 700 or so pretty quickly at 75-80 kts. That’s pretty much POH performance.
I think this aircraft and the 152 are two of the best modeled in the software. Of course, those are the two I have the most time in… 
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Make sure that the flight model is set to MODERN.
There are numerous reports of the flight model changing on its own to legacy after updating/reinstalling.
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100% agreed
That’s a good idea. I will try that!
Have checked that. Flying in my local area isn’t hi dense. I do find that MSFS sets 1 notch of flaps by default when setting up for take off. I tend to start straight to the runway instead of cold and dark at the gate. So it’s annoying to always have to check the flaps. But even then the plane is underpowered even though the RPMs indicate otherwise.
Is there a particular airport and takeoff procedure you’re following that produces these particular results, which other people could test and compare to? It’s hard to tell what might be wrong without being able to test it under the same conditions!
I really think the problem arose after one of the recent updates. Strangely, the G1000 C172 flies just fine. Someone suggested removing the C172 folder and reinstalling the plane from the Content Manager. This sounds like a good plan. Thanks for your input.
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Great, I hope that works! For reference, here’s my exact procedure for reaching about 125 knots in the steam gauge C172:
- start at KSPG airport in St Petersburg, Florida at sea level
- put flaps to neutral
- throttle up to full
- take off
- climb to about 1000-1500 feet
- level off with pitch trim
- leave the mixture at full rich, just as it started, since we’re at low altitude. RPM is about 2600
- watch speed go up to about 125 KIAS
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Ha ha… I always retract the 10° flap immediately. They’re only needed for short/soft field takeoffs… I have no idea why they preset them like that
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Turns out the mixture did play a part in the power. Atlanta is only 900-1000 above sea level. In the first release of MSFS full mixture did the trick. Something has changed in recent updates that require fuel leaning on the same Atlanta area airport (KPDK) where I do my local GA flying. The RPMs go ■■■■ nearly 25K now! Thanks for the suggestions.